


Thank You For Your Service

by Chellacat



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angry Sex, Bathroom Sex, Darcy Lewis is Tony Stark's Daughter, Elevator Sex, F/M, Hate to Love, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-04-06 18:28:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19068199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chellacat/pseuds/Chellacat
Summary: Darcy Lewis is chaffing at the new restrictions imposed on her by her employer and newly discovered father  Tony and slips out intending to have some fun.  She ends up getting more than she bargained for when a handsome stranger comes to her rescue.So this prompt came from Tumblr and grew into something more than just a short one-shot.  The first chapter was also posted to my Wintershock Drabbles fic, but I'm now re-posting it here as a separate story as it looks like it will be running to around five chapters.Prompt:  Darcy at a party when she spots an ex. Quick, she urgently has to pretend to be dating the nearest person, who happens to be very attractive.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Omnomsauruswrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omnomsauruswrites/gifts).



> It would never have grown into a longer story without the help and inspiration from my darling J. This is for you my love. xxx

 

 

 

Darcy mingled near the bar, sipping her drink and feeling sorry for herself.  She’s all on her lonesome tonight, Jane bowed out early with Thor and probably wouldn’t be seen until Monday.   She’s not meant to be out on her own, but she’s fed up with her dad’s overprotective paranoia.  Ever since Tony found out about her existence he’s been  trying to make up for the last twenty odd years of her life.   The latest decision, that she needs a bodyguard, causing a huge argument, which she hopes she’s won.

This was not the Friday night she had been counting on though and she hadn’t actually been drinking, not feeling safe to with Jane gone.  She was just about to call it a night when she spotted him across the room, he was making a bee line towards her.  

She turned back to the bar and felt panic creeping up her spine.  Her ex, Ian, was here and now he’s seen her, god she wants the floor to swallow her.  She looks to the right where the same man had sat all night.  He was big and broad and although the long hair was a little hobo, he seemed intimidating enough to do the job, he held himself like a soldier so she thinks she can appeal to his protective nature.  

Darcy kicks the leg of his bar stool and he turns his head to look at her, for a second, she nearly stops breathing.  He has the most beautiful blue eyes with thick generous lashes she has ever seen, he also looks like a Greek god with a strong jawline and cheekbones to die for.  He’s frowning at her as she stares, struck dumb for a moment before her brain kicks back in and she leans forward, laying on the best drunk damsel impression she can manage.

“Look, I know this seems really weird and totally like some bad pick up line, but can you pretend to be my boyfriend, for like, ten mins tops?  Just till I get rid of my ex?”  She murmurs, deliberately curving her mouth into a pouty flirty smile, not that it took much effort, god he was hot.  

Before he can answer Ian’s voice breaks into the slightly awkward silence.

“Darcy, fancy seeing you here.  I thought you’d be in DC by now?”

Darcy turns her head and smiles saccharinely, resisting the urge to throw her drink in his face.

“Really?  I heard you moved to Boston, I guess we were both wrong.”

“Still trailing around after Dr Foster then?”

“We’re not trailing around, we’re heading the astrophysics lab at Stark Industries.”

She enjoys the look of jealousy for about two seconds before he recovers.

“I didn’t know they paid interns at SI, still living off Dr Fosters charity then, or are you picking up _other work.”_

She wants to smack him, is only stopped from doing so by the arm that suddenly slips around her waist.

“What exactly are you implying?”

It’s the hot guy sitting next to her.  Darcy squashes the sudden flutter in her belly at the way the heat of his hand seems to sear through the thin material of her dress.

Ian looks startled and taken aback.

“I’m sorry, and you are?”

“James Barnes, and think you were about to apologise to my girlfriend for implying that she was a whore.”

She wants to cheer, Ian looks fit to pee his pants.  Clinging to her tipsy girl persona she snuggles into the hot hobo and pats his chest.

“James is very protective.” She shots Ian a shark like grin as her fake boyfriend takes a half a menacing step forward.  Ian squeaks out an apology and can’t high tail it fast enough. Darcy can’t help it, she breaks into a peel of laughter and ends up clutching her saviors shirt in a effort to stay upright.

She laughs so hard she nearly falls off her seat.

“Jesus Doll, how much have you had?”  The sweet concern in his tone has her patting his chest lightly, admiring the firm muscle beneath the Henley as his hands hover at her hips, worrying about letting her fall.

“None.”  She manages to gasp as the laughter finally calms.

“What?”

“Sorry handsome, I needed help and drunk damsel usually works really well.”

“I’d have helped you out without the act doll, he’s a real piece of work.”

“Yes, he is.”  She agrees, still patting at his chest.  Good lord, how much working out did he do to get this buff?  “You know, I really feel as though I should thank you properly for the save.”  She bites her lip and widens her eyes, just  a little, her tone honey sweet and low.

He smiles down at her and cocks and eyebrow.

“You want to thank me for my service?”  The teasing tone send a thrill through her and a pleasant tingle starts in her belly.

“However you’d like me too, soldier.”  His eyes darken at her words and his hands finally land on her hips.  He wets his lips and she smooths her hands down his front to pluck at the front of his jeans.  She makes the decision quickly, she doesn’t usually do this sort of thing, but he is hot and she is horny and he just squished Ian like a bug, she is so turned on that her panties are soaked through.

She pushes him back and he goes without protest as she jumps off the stool and then she takes his hand and tugs him after her, headed through the bar and dragging him into the lady’s restroom.  He gets the idea quick and they’re in a stall and he has her skirt pushed up and her leg pulled over his hip even as his mouth descends on hers for a filthy hot kiss that make her mewl in want.  Jesus Christ, he knows how to kiss.  

Darcy’s fingers make quick work of his shirt buttons, she moans in appreciation when she sees his chest and abs.  The whimper he makes as she lightly pinches his nipples has her wet with want, fuck he was beautiful.   His large hands skim over her tits, squeezing and pressing and she feels her knees go weak, the only thing keeping her upright his hard thigh between her legs where she grinds herself frantically, desperate for friction as she rocks against him.  

She doesn’t protest as he pulls down her top and pushes the cups of the bra out of his way, his mouth tracing a hot path of kisses from her neck south until his lips closed around one aching nipple, she gasps and lets out a reedy cry, she thinks she could come from this alone, fuck he knows what to do with his mouth and tongue.  Cool fingers dip into her panties, seeking out her wet folds, the rumble in his chest when he finds her hot and wet and quivering for him makes her gasp.  

She tugs his belt open and pushes his pants down far enough to free his cock.  He is achingly hard and hot in her palm and leaking.  He captures her in another kiss and then he’s lifting her, back pressed to the wall of the stall, legs wrapping around his hips and he wrenches her panties to one side.  

The thick head of his cock eases into her, teasing at her entrance and all the breath leaves her body as he makes one hard thrust, filling her quickly.  She moans his name, her walls clenching around the sudden invasion. He pants into her ear, tells her how good she feels, how fucking tight and wet her pussy is and she cants her hips, grinding her clit into his pelvic bone and then he pounds into her, hips snapping upwards with each stroke.  The sound of skin meeting skin is sinful and then his thumb seeks out her clit, stroking it gently for such a rough looking man and then she’s coming hard, back arching, more dirty talk is muttered into her ear, encourage her and praising her for coming around his cock, calling her a good girl, so sweet and dirty.  She can only cling to him, as he drives into her over and over, their sweat slick skin meeting again and again as he fucks her.  He holds her effortlessly while he thrusts and she feels a second orgasm building, following the first, his cock pressing deeper and then he adjusts the angle and he’s stroking firmly over her g-spot with each lunge.  

Her whole body arches as she comes again, clutching him greedily, drawing him in and she feel nothing but triumph as he stiffens and slams into her once more, burying himself in her possessively as he comes, his lips on her neck, hands holding her ass, pressing his cock so deeply in her pussy she wants to come again from the fullness and heat of him spilling inside her.  The ache of his cock filling her makes her dizzy, he feels so good, it feels as though he’s thoroughly imprinted in her body and she’ll never forget what he feels like.  

He keeps her pined to the wall for a few minutes, his cock slowly softening as he kisses her slow and dirty, both of then still shuddering as aftershocks rip through them.  When he finally lets her down onto her feet her legs hardly support her, but he steadies her with a chuckle and holds her up till she finds her footing again.  

She feels starry eyed and besotted from the pleasure he gave her, it doesn’t help that she thinks he might have the finest body she’d ever seen and she’s seen Thor naked, but James was better, so much better, but this was just a one time hook up.  He pulls himself together and leaves her to fix her clothes.

In the fluorescent light she sorts herself, pulling down her skirt and making sure her top covers her modestly before washing her hands and leaving the bathroom.  Suddenly feeling shy and a little embarrassed, because what the hell was she thinking?  She sneaks out the back way and hails a cab.  

Climbing into bed back at the Tower, she finally really needs to sleep, she decides she doesn’t regret the impulsive decision.  Her only regret that she hadn’t taken the chance to ask for his number.

 

 

The next morning she’s nearly at Jane’s lab when Tony shouts for her to pop into his lab.  Darcy swerves and crosses the hallway, poking her head in.  Tony isn’t alone, there is a man with him.

“Darcy, meet Bucky Barnes, he’s going to be our new head of security for the Tower.”  

He turns to see her and Darcy freezes.  It’s him, the hot hobo from the bar.  All she can do is gape as Tony introduces them.  Her mind goes blank and she wonders how she missed a vibranium arm. Then it all falls into place and her mind finally makes the connection.  He’s the Winter Soldier.  His answering introduction and the way he kisses the back of her hand has Tony shaking his head while Darcy swoons a little more.   If she’d known who he was she’d have brung him back to her apartment the night before, not having to worry about sneaking him past security.   In the light of day he looked even better, clean and washed and dressed smartly, his hair tied back.    He smiles at her like he wants to eat her and she thinks she might just let him.  That is until Tony tells her he’ll be her new bodyguard, one she won’t be able to give the slip to. 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

 

Bucky was happy to take the job he’d been offered as SI. It felt like a second chance to put things right between him and Stark.  Happy Hogan had retired as head of security and although Steve had wanted him as part of the Avengers Initiative he’d wanted something less unpredictable and violet than running from one side of the globe to the other.  

The offer from Stark to take up the security position and the request of him being the personal bodyguard to the man’s daughter was too tempting to say no to.  He’d promised he’d protect her with his life, that the man trusted him to do so was the olive branch he needed.  He swore he wouldn’t let him down.  He wasn’t going to let another Stark die on his watch.  

The night before he’d went out for a drink and met the prettiest dame, in a little bar, just a few blocks from the Tower.  He’d not been intending to take things as far as they’d gone but he’d not been able to resist having her when she’d dragged him off.  The disappointment he’d felt when she’d taken off without even saying goodbye had hurt more than he liked.  He can’t stop thinking about her and her pretty red lips and flashing blue eyes.  He woke up that morning with a shout, the dream of her so real he’d came like a teenager in his sleep.  

Now he’s standing here being introduced to her by Stark and he can’t believe his luck.  Maybe now, with the way she’s smiling at him he can ask her out on a date. 

Just as this thought crosses his mind, Stark tells him this is the woman he’ll be guarding.  He sees the way the brightness leaves her eyes and the thin line of her lips, the glare she shoots him like a slap to the face.  He can guess where her thoughts have turned, she thinks he knew who she was last night and he can’t blame her for being suspicious, for jumping to conclusions.

“No.  I’ve told you before Tony, I don’t need a bodyguard, especially not him!”

He wants to flinch back from the icy fury in her voice.  Her focus is on Stark, but he can feel the way she’s watching him from the corner of her eye.

“Pumpkin, you’ve been kidnapped four times and almost kidnapped seven times.  You need protection.”

“You don’t do this for Peter!”

“Because I don’t have to, Peter keeps a tight schedule, Happy always drives him where he wants to go and picks him up. You on the other hand, waltz out of here and wander about with no warning and no plan, you don’t even tell people where you’re going.”

“I’m an adult, not a child, I don’t need to be treated like this, I don’t need to be treated like I’m going to break, I can take care of myself!”

“You’re not just putting yourself in danger Darcy.  Think of the people who have to come rescue you, think of the people around you when you inevitably get taken again.  I know you can take care of yourself, I know you want to be independent, but your connection to Foster and I and living here in the Tower, it makes you a target. You have a responsibility to minimise that risk as far as you can-“

“That’s not fair!  I need space, I’m always being watched you can’t-“

“Yes I can.  Maybe you won’t listen to me as you father, but you will listen to me as your employer.  You will accept a bodyguard and keep him appraised of your movements at all times. Non-negotiable.”  He grabs a tablet and passes it to her. 

 “Foster already agreed to all of this, she never leaves the tower without Thor or the protection detail he chose for her.  This is a list of the threatening letters both she and you have gotten as well as a comprehensive transcript of dark web chatter we’ve monitored for the last month.  Read it. Then tell me you’re not in danger.”

Stark storms out before she can respond, the pad clutched hard in her hands, knuckles white from her angry grip.

“Doll-“  he begins, hoping to try and head her off.  She turns the full force of her displeasure on him.

“Don’t.  You. Dare.  You don’t get to talk, not after last night!”

He feels irritation bubble up inside him. He didn’t do anything wrong.  

“Now wait just a minute sweetheart, I’m not the one who snuck out the back to avoid seeing the guy she just banged in the rest room.”

He wants to hit himself almost as soon as the words leave his mouth.  The way she flinches back and her cheeks redden.

“You were following me!”  She slams the data pad down on the desk, bright spots of fury colouring her cheeks.

“No.  I wasn’t.  I had no idea who you were!”   The volume of his voice rises, he can’t believe he’s pleading with her to understand, but he doesn’t want her to think so badly of him, even if they can have nothing more than a professional relationship now.  

“Yeah, right, I’m meant to believe you sitting next to me at the bar was just a coincidence?”  The bitterness in her tone and the way she folds her arms defensively over her chest makes him want to chase all that self-doubt away amid a flurry of gentle kisses.

“Yeah, you are.  I wouldn’t do something like that.  You might not like this whole bodyguard thing and I don’t blame you, but don’t take your issues with it out on me.  I’m only here to do my job.”

At those last few words she jerks, her head snapping up and her eyes locking with his.

“That’s all I am, now?  A job?”  Accusation and hurt laces her tone.

“That’s all you can be!”  He wants to beg her to understand.  That this, whatever pull they felt between them, could never be.

“Well, you were a lousy lay anyway!”

She throws the last out furiously, biting and searing in its delivery and storms off, much like her father.  The dig is a weak one but it has the desired effect.  It dents his pride, irritates him that she thinks she can throw their tryst back in his face like that.  He follows her before he can reconsider the action, before he can think with his brain instead of his dick.  

He catches her in the elevator, grabbing her arm to pull her back and she whirls on him, already raising a hand to slap him. Bucky catches her wrist effortlessly with one hand and twists her arm behind her, pulling her body against his…

They’re both bristling with pent up emotion, faces flushed, chests heaving with anger and desire and the air around them is charged with tension.  He does the only thing he can think of and kisses her.

The doors of the elevator close behind them and it starts to move.

Darcy kisses him back hard, lips and teeth, nipping and biting as they try to punish the other.  She can’t think clearly, she makes a noise of protest when he pulls away and jerks her wrist from his hold only to grab the collar of his shirt and pull him back into the bruising kiss.  

Bucky forgets who they are and why they shouldn’t be doing this, the heat of her soft curves under his hands and the taste of her on his tongue sending a burning need, like fire, through his veins. He backs her into the mirrored glass wall and slams his hand on the emergency stop button before hiking up her skirt and lifting her.  She wraps her legs round him with a mewling sound of need and grinds into him.  This is nothing like last night, although the position is the same, the feeling is full of resentment and ire.  

She hears the sound of his zip and feels him tear her panties off, two of his fingers seeking out her cunt and plunging into her without warning.  She’s soaking for him, the abrupt invasion only turning her on more.  She cries out and digs her nails into his shoulders, taking a small vicious pleasure in the grunt of pain it garners.  

The urgency that comes over him to be inside her, right now, drives away any reason or sense.  She’s wet, dripping already, he can feel her body responding to him, arching into him with tiny breathy whimpers and snarls, canting her hips into his and tearing at his t-shirt.  He relishes the way her nails score his skin and he grips her ass and hips tighter, lining himself up and driving home in one harsh thrust, the sound of flesh smacking together obscene as he fucks her, thrusting into her hard and fast, pushing them both into an angry maelstrom, both of them racing to the precipice.   

She bites his shoulder hard as her pussy begins to flutter around his cock, sharp cries muffled even as he feels his own release approaching.  He comes hard, his fingers leaving bruises on her pale skin, growling her name into her neck, buried deep in her heat, it feels like nirvana.   

They make a filthy tableau in the mirrored space, she looks like some primal goddess of debauchery, legs hooked around him, her blouse open, tits exposed and on display, pale skin littered with reddening marks made by his mouth and teeth.  Wild eyed and glassy as she pants, mouth open, still impaled on his cock, her body still clenching around him, milking his cum with each involuntary shudder.  

He thinks he’ll always remember the way she looks right now, in this moment, burnt into his memory for as long as he lives. The visceral feeling of satisfaction that he did this to her lying deep in his gut.  He’s never wanted to possess anyone so thoroughly before, wanted to mark them as his and defy anyone to challenge it, but she drives that need in him to the surface hard.  

They can’t seem to look away from one another, eyes locked.  The moment breaks when she finally tears her gaze away, he can see the beginning of tears gathering in her eyes and he regretfully lets her go, gently setting her down.  

She pushes him away with a sob.  All he wants to do is hold her and apologise, but the words won’t come and they fix their clothes before she hits the stop button and the elevator moves again.  She gets off on the next floor and he reaches for her.

“Darcy…”  He doesn’t know if it’s to try and fix things or reiterate the truth.

“I hate you!”  Her fists as clenched at her sides as she hisses at him.  She knows it’s childish but she is about an inch away from stomping her foot too.

“You can’t hate me forever and you can’t ignore me either.”  He tells her a touch bitterly.  

“Watch me”

“I’m still your bodyguard.” He growls at her, losing all patience.

Her lips turn in an unfriendly smile.

“We’ll see how long that lasts.”

The doors close before he can argue back and he’s left running agitated hands through sweat slick hair, the smell of her still on his fingers.  He shouldn’t have done that, _they_ shouldn’t have done that.  He needs to get control back.  This can’t ever be anything and he’s not about to quit this job just because his libido decided to pick her as the first woman he’s wanted in nearly seventy years.  

Tomorrow, he’d speak to her tomorrow and figure out her schedule then and have Jarvis alert him if she tried to leave the building in the meantime.  He makes his way back to his new office and sits down, wincing when his back hits the chair, she’d torn him up good with her little kitten claws, nails raking a path down his back.  He closes his eyes and he sees her again in his mind, the pretty picture she made as she came imprinted behind his eyelids.  He was in so much trouble.  

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy has questions. Bucky tries to keep his distance. Darcy retaliates.

 

 

 

 

For the next week Darcy stuck to the confines of the Tower.  It wasn’t hard, the place was a veritable mini city in it’s own right.  The first floor was made up of two restaurants, a boutique and spa. Never let it be said that Tony would ever let anyone in his employ do without the essentials.  There was also a fantastic lending library on five, a gym for the Avengers personal use on sixty-five and an Olympic size pool on sub-level three.

 

She spent plenty of time stewing over the thought of him knowing who she was that first night, but eventually she admits to herself that he seemed shocked when Tony introduced them too.  She still made it her mission to avoid James Barnes at all costs though, she wasn’t ready to face him yet.

 

Every time he tried to track her down, she used the private elevator and Jarvis to circumvent his attempts.  Luckily Jane had left for a short trip to Culver to give some lectures, so Darcy wasn’t stuck in the labs where she knew she was all too easy to find.

 

The problem of Barnes as her bodyguard was keeping her from sleeping well.  She was still furious with him and pissed at Tony for making her comply, but she had went back and retrieved the tablet he’d left her and after reading through it she knew he had a point.  It still chaffed though. She had spent so much of her life looking out for herself that it went against everything in her to allow someone else, no matter how well meaning or right to dictate how she conducted herself.

 

The problem is that she is frustrated and confused by the sudden insistence.  She's been working at SI for two years without a bodyguard and only a light protection detail when she and Jane go to international conferences. Darcy is convinced the only reason Tony is insisting on a bodyguard now is because he found out she was his daughter.  Thor insisting on Jane having protection when he wasn't there makes far more sense, she is the future Queen of Asgard and he knows there are people who are opposed to Jane’s future status. Darcy is just a low level assistant, no one even knows about her blood connection to Tony.

 

She also spent some of the time the past week, researching him.  Oh, she knew the basics, everyone did, but what Shield and the Avengers allowed released to the public was far less than what she could get her hands on hacking the Tower servers.  Jarvis was good enough not to tattle on her, so there was that. After the confrontation in the elevator she had also had to get into Jarvis code and convince him to delete the footage of their hate fueled sexcapades, the last thing she wanted was Tony blowing a fuse because she got her freak on with Bucky Barnes.

She hadn’t been able to resist watching it before she deleted it though.  Watching them tear at each other was thrilling, it had been primal and raw. Seeing it from the outside, coupled with the memory of how it had felt, she had touched herself, coming harder by her own hand than she had in years.  It took her breath away to see him fuck her, to watch as all that raw strength, a body made and sculpted for war, held her effortlessly, taking her apart. She lost track of everything watching it, watching them, their reflections carrying into infinity as he claimed her.  It’s what it was, there’s no other way to describe how he took her, even as she claimed him back, teeth and nails marking him. She blushed seeing it, seeing her own wanton abandon.

 

Watching as her body arched into his and how she pulled on his hair, the grunts he made as she clenched around him had her cuming around her own fingers.  It made her ache to feel him again, to have him fill her with his cock and mutter filth in her ear the way he had. She watches his face when he makes her come, sees the awe and possession in his expression, the way he looks at her like he wants to keep her.  It’s how she knows that it isn’t just her imagination. There is something important between them, something visceral and deep.

 

He could have broken her if he’d been any less in command of himself.  She knew that now, understood and was thrilled by the thought of it. She’d seen the footage of the Winter Soldier on the bridge in DC.  He and Steve had been all out against each other on that highway and Barnes had held the upper hand, had been winning even before Steve realised who he was.  She was just a fragile human, the control he exerted over himself even as they lost themselves in angry lust had been absolute.

 

She’d stood in front of her bathroom mirror every evening and morning, fingers tracing over the bruises he had left and knows he could have broken her bones, but he hadn’t.  He’d left his mark, his fingerprints on her skin, blue and purple fading to green and yellow. When they were finally gone she had felt bereft. Part of her wanted those marks back on her body, claiming her, branding her. When he’d been inside her she’d felt whole in a way she’d never experienced before.  

 

Knowing his story better after pouring over the files only made her want him more.  She wanted to hate him, she really did, but he’d promised he hadn’t been following her, that meeting her had been just that, a coincidence.  She believed him, but that didn’t mean she was going to make this easy on him.

 

* * *

 

 

She’d eventually calmed down after everything and decided to beard the lion in his den.  The surprise on his face when she turned up at his office door had been genuine.

  


Darcy  smiled nervously at him from the doorway before stepping inside. Bucky looked up at her knock and motioned for her to come in.  The office was utilitarian and almost empty, other than the desk and chairs. Book shelves lined one wall, bare and waiting to be filled, on the window sill was a large cacti, the kind you see in garden centers the world over.  She wonders who bought it for him, somehow knowing it’s not the sort of thing he would have chosen for himself.

 

“Hey.”  it’s all she manages to say.  Unsure of what you're meant to say to the guy who’s fucked you twice but whom you’ve never actually had a proper conversation with.  

 

“Darcy.”  He seems just as unsure of where they stand as she does.  He stood there, waiting until she sits down before retaking his seat.

 

The silence makes her edgy and she blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.

 

“Nice cactus... how’s it going?”

 

He spares the greenery a quick look of derision before turning his attention back to her.

 

“It’s good, getting through a review of personal and doing some additional background checks, I didn’t realise how much paperwork this damn job was going to involve.”

 

She smiles, fingers drumming against her thigh.

 

“You know this position comes with a PA, right?  Haven’t you found someone suitable from HR yet?”

 

“I guess I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.  Still a lot of things on the list, honestly I think I forgot with everything.”  he gestured vaguely at the boxes of files on the floor around his desk. “But, what can I do for you?”

 

“I umm, I wondered if you wanted to get a drink tonight.  Let me apologise for jumping to conclusions the other day.”

 

It’s as close as she’ll come to saying she was wrong for being so upset with him.  A peace offering and a date in one.

 

Bucky sighs and looks down at the desk, flicking an eye off to the side and the moving a file over the offending paper.  She holds her breath, thinking this was not the response she expected. She sees it coming even before he speaks.

 

“I’m sorry, but I can’t.  It wouldn’t be right.”

 

“Why not?  We’re both consenting adults, you’re not my employee and I don’t work for you…”

 

“It’s a conflict of interest Doll.”  he still won’t look her in the eye.

 

“Why are you so determined to keep me at arms length?  I’ve seen the employment contact Tony had you sign, there’s nothing stopping us from seeing each other.  I know I’m not wrong about this, you like me, I know you do.”

 

“You’re right, I do, but we still can’t do this.  I need to focus on my job, I can’t do that properly if we’re involved.  I don’t want to slip up and you get hurt.” he sounds sincere, but she’s known men who could do that even when they were lying, and right now he wasn’t telling her everything, she could feel it.

 

“So assign me my own protection detail.  I’ll follow the rules, not cause any trouble.  Tony won’t mind so long as I stick to the program.”

 

“I can’t do that, Tony asked me to be your personal security, I gave him my word, I’d never forgive myself if another Stark died when I could have stopped it.”

 

She feels the bottom drop out from underneath her.  More excuses, she’s an idiot, maybe he was interested enough to fuck her but not have a relationship. The thought tasted bitter in her mouth.

 

“You don’t have to lie to me, if you don’t want to go out with me.”

 

“Doll, it’s not like that, I do like you, I just…   I can’t trust anyone else with your safety.”

 

She stood quickly, and strode to the door, she had to get out of there. there is a clatter of the chair as he stands and comes after her.  It’s like the elevator all over again, he catches her before she can open the door, pulling her round to face him, she braces her hands on his chest, all too aware of his body only a hairs breath from her own.

 

“Darcy, please understand, it’s not about you, this is on me.”

 

“Then quit.  Tell Tony you can’t do it, tell him we already knew each other, that we want to date.  He’ll understand. You’re not responsible for me just because you played a hand in Howard and Maria’s deaths.  I never even knew them. Give me another security detail.”

 

His grip on her arms tightens briefly, she sees the conflict in his eyes.

 

“I’m not going to break my word.”

 

“No, but you’ll break my heart just fine.”

 

She pushed out of his hold and spun, leaving him behind.  This was not over.

 

* * *

 

  


IT doesn’t make any sense.  Why would she merit the Winter Soldier as a bodyguard and not Jane? Why would she get the scary supersoldier when Jane is the bigger target of the two of them? There was something more going on, there had to be.  She just wishes she could figure out what. Until then, well. She knew now, from his reaction at the last, he definitely wants her, just as much as she wants him. She has to make him see she’s not going to give up.

 

If he wanted to be her bodyguard so badly, well, she’d make him jump through so many hoops and over so many obstacles he’d quit.  He was just as affected by her as she was by him, that much was clear, but she knew he’d resist letting anything happen between them while he was meant to be her protection.  But she wanted him, badly. Badly enough that she’s prepared to tie the man in knots until he resigns as her bodyguard, because she knows in her soul she needs him, she wants to know if they could be something.

 

* * *

 

 

The first time she decides to leave the Tower is Tuesday evening, there’s a great little pizza place in the East Village that she’s been dying to try out, she knows she should call him, tell him she’s going out, but she wants to know what will happen if she doesn’t.  So sue her, she’s always been too curious for her own good.

 

The trip down in the elevator is smooth as always but being in the small space, the memories of what he’d done to her push to the front of her mind.  When she gets off on the ground floor she’s wet and frustrated and ready to turn around and got back to her apartment and deal with the unexpected arousal.  Before she can call the lift back she spots him. She’s not sure if she’s surprised to see him, leather jacket and gloves on, standing by the front door of the lobby.  He looks good, the look he gives her and the small smirk enough to make desire and ire curl in her belly in equal measure. She squares her shoulders, unable to back down now and crosses the lobby at a clipped pace.

 

He doesn’t say anything as she marches past him, just opens the door for her and follows behind.

 

Darcy is hyper aware of him, just feet behind her to her left.  She refuses to turn a head and look at or acknowledge him, but part of her itches to sneak a peek, to take in how fucking pretty he looked.  The whole trip goes off without a hitch, he trails after her, she grabs some dinner and then he follows her back.

 

The little trip out served its purpose, he knows when she’s leaving, good.  The next three days she randomly pops out of the tower on a ridiculous number of errands that have her all over New York.  She can see the irritation building in him, the way his gaze narrows as her smiles become sunnier and sunnier. She takes a deep satisfaction in making him follow her from lingerie shop to lingerie shop, dumping the many bags she exits with into his arms.

 

* * *

 

 

It’s day four of “Drive Barnes into Early Retirement”.  She set her alarm for 3:45am. There’s a 24 hour lending library halfway across the city she likes and she’s already booked her Uber.  She wonders what he’ll make of this trip. By her calculations he would be in bed right now, sleeping. Jarvis would alert him of her intention to leave, she can’t wait to see if he can catch her before she makes it into the Uber.

 

She had slept in her clothes, so grabs her purse and coat and high tales it out of her apartment and into the elevator.

 

When she reaches the lobby he’s not there.  She only hesitates for a moment before striding outside, looking for her ride.  It’s not there yet. She stamps her feet against the chill and checks her phone impatiently.

 

She thinks she should feel less surprised than she is when a black SUV pulls up and Barnes rolls down the window.

 

“Get in.”  it’s terse and strained and she can see the dark circles under his eyes.  For a second she feels at least a little guilty for running him so ragged but then stamps it down.

 

The drive to the library is tense and silent.  She looks out the window and resolutely ignores him, scrambling out of the car when they arrive and hurrying inside before he can do something dumb, like open the door for her.

 

Inside she scurries away till she finds the section she wants and peers at the titles.  She can feel him watching her at first as she wanders the stacks. Eventually she gathers the books she wanted and finds a nook to sit and read in.  He takes up the chair opposite her and sits with a book of his own.

 

For the next hour she reads without much focus, finding herself going over the words three of four times before giving up.  When she looks over at him he’s slumped in the seat, book closed in one hand and his eyes shut. Again, the traitorous feeling of guilt creeps in.  She knows he’s been working hard the last two weeks, increasing security for the Tower, putting new protocols in place, reviewing the existing personnel and a whole slew of other things, she hasn’t made any of it easier on him.

The thing is though, it stung.  She wasn’t good at handling rejection, even when it came from good place.  He’s trying to do the right thing. Keeping his work and personal life separate.  She gets it, but it’s frankly ridiculous. He’s already slept with her, twice, not that she could call it sleeping.  She finds herself staring at hm again, in all honesty he is hard to look away from. Fuck he looked cute like that, all soft and warm and vulnerable looking. There was a tiny little frown line between his eyes, she wanted to smooth it out and kiss his brow, take away whatever was making him anxious.  Then again, she’s probably the cause of it. She sighs and waits. She’s not going to wake him up yet.

The light slowly filters into the space as the sun rises and she keeps watch wondering if she should rethink this whole thing.  It’s nearly seven when she finally reaslies she’ll have to wake him if they want to be back at the Tower and have time to get ready before work.  Jane is back today too, so Darcy knows she’ll have a heap of work of her own waiting in the lab.

She puts the books she chose back on their shelves and grabs the one he was holding too, it had dropped to the floor an hour earlier, but he hadn’t stirred, he must have been really tired.

 

She tries waking him gently, just calling his name, but he’s out for the count.  Giving up she places a hand on his shoulder to shake him and suddenly finds herself held down across his lap, his hand at her throat, his eyes wide and blue, inches from hers.  His grip goes slack immediately, she can see the horror in his expression and she grabs the bionic hand at her neck, holding it against her chest.

 

“I’m fine, I know better, I won’t wake you like that again.”

 

For a moment everything is still and then he closes his eyes and rests his forehead to hers.

 

“I could have killed you.”

 

“You didn’t.  You didn’t even hurt me, just restrained me.  I’m fine, see?”

 

She keeps her tone light and reaches a tentative hand up to cup his jaw, her thumb brushing against the growth of stubble on his cheek.  This close she can clearly see the grey creeping through the dark, it's adorable and so human she wants to coo. 

 

He opens his eyes again and she feels lost looking into them. She thinks she can see everything in the blue, every thought that crosses his mind seems to be reflected there.  Guilt, remorse, frustration, gratitude… the heat rapidly creeping into his gaze sends a frisson of desire through her, skin prickling, nipples hardening and warmth pools in her belly.  

 

He’s going to kiss her, she can feel it in her bones, sees the way his eyes drop to her lips and back again and she grips his shoulder even as he heart starts to pound.  

 

Why does it feel like this with him? It’s the only thing she has time to wonder before his lips meet hers. Soft and warm, moving over hers, the kiss is gentle, slow.  Full of something unknowable and dark. His hands grip her waist, pulling her up till she’s sitting in his lap, his mouth coaxing hers open, one brush a time.

 

The first swipe of his tongue at the seam of her lips leaves her gasping.  He kisses her with the sort of focus that wipes all thought from her mind, makes her weak all over and has her mewling like a kitten with each stroke of tongue to hers.   All she can feel is him, the restrained strength and power under her hands, the taste him on her tongue as he plunders her mouth.  She wants to crawl inside his skin, wants to put aside the past two weeks and start over, right here, now.

 

Her body already knows his touch, it sings under his hands, as he runs his fingers under the hem of her shirt, skimming over her skin, pulling her closer.  She finds herself with her hands in his hair, soft and curling at the ends as she tugs on it gently, the tiny little growls of need he makes when she does it, brings a curl of a smile to her lips.  This is everything she wants with him. Heady kisses that last forever, wandering hands and the smell of him, deep and earthy saturating the sheets of her bed. She curls into him, to his warmth and sighs some more as he makes love to her with his mouth. She’d forgotten what just kissing was like, how good it could be, how meaningful.

The sudden and insistent ringing of his phone interrupts them.  He pulls back from her, both of them a little breathless, but she sees the regret begin to set into his expression and pushes off his lap, standing and grabbing her purse and coat.  It’s like being doused in ice water, the abrupt turn from something deep and warm to the cold indifference of his rejection, hollowing out her soul, leaving her empty. She’s vaguely aware of him answering the phone, of the gruff impatience in his voice as he talks to whoever is on the other end. She uses the brief few moments to pull herself back together, to plaster a facade of calm nonchalance over the bitter burning sting of his regret. She won’t let him see how much it hurts, won’t let him see how close she is to begging for him like some love sick ninny.

 

“You ready to go?”

 

She doesn’t turn, can’t bare to look at him and see that same dismissal again.  She just nods and makes her way out to the car, once again hyper aware of him only feet away.

In the SUV she jams a finger at the radio and switches till the sound of Eric Clapton comes loud over the speakers.

 

“We can’t keep doing this Darcy.”  

 

She wishes he didn’t sound so vulnerable, his voice bordering pleading in it’s tone.  It gets her back up, sours her mood still further. God, he made her feel so much. Being in his orbit was enough to give her emotional whiplash.  Why was he denying this? Them? She knew something had changed again in that library, something more growing in the space between them. Part of her wanted to rip it out and kill it before it grew, afraid he would only hurt her more.  When he reaches for her hand she draws it back quickly. How dare he try to touch her after that? After ending things before they began, again.

 

“ _We_ , can’t?”  She questions waspishly, staring straight ahead, denying him the ability to read her eyes and see the truth..  “I’m not the one going around kissing people, that was you, remember?”

 

From the corner of her eye she sees his grip tighten on the wheel, flesh hand going white at the knuckles from the pressure.

 

“You’re right.  It’s on me. It won’t happen again.”

 

She thinks he believes what he says, but she knows better.  The air between them still full of tension. Darcy digs her nails into her palms, counts in her head to ten, then fifty before slowly releasing a breath she had been holding and loosening her fists.  She needs time to pull back and reassess. Maybe this whole thing was a mistake, and she was making it worse. Perhaps he was right, and they should be nothing more than client and bodyguard.

 

“I’ll email you my schedule this afternoon, so you know when I’ll need you.  I probably won’t be going out much. Jane’s back today, so you’ll be rid of me for a few days.”

 

She keeps her tone as impersonal as possible, but a small sliver of bitterness underlays it.

 

“I don’t mind taking you wherever you want to go Darcy.”

 

“Miss Lewis.”

 

It slips out, hard and absolute.  She glances at him long enough to watch his jaw tighten and the flash of hurt in his eyes.  If he wants this to be nothing more than a business relationship he can treat all of it as such.

 

“Yes Miss Lewis.”

 

She doesn’t flinch when her name leaves his lips, coated in rime and cutting the air between them like diamond.  She wants to throw up, the sickening feeling of loss she’s brought on herself a leaden weight of doom in her gut.

 

Nothing else is or needs to be said.  When they get back, they go their separate ways.  He opens the car door for her, standing at attention as she alights and brushes past him, her legs feeling like jelly even as she forces herself to walk confidently into the lobby and into the elevator.  The damned elevator with its mirrors and memories reflected in them to infinity. She spots him briefly at the security desk before the doors close, his face a grim mask, his eyes hard. They flick up for one agonising moment to meet her own and her lips tighten in pain.  She wants to lash out, to scream. This is his fault, he’s the one that started it, kissing her after saying he couldn’t, can he blame her for feeling angry, for giving him what he wanted? The doors close and all she’s left with is her own face, pale of colour, even her lips bleeding white are the edges.  She feels like she’s fighting a losing battle, her body and heart and mind all wanting something different. She needs help.

 

Darcy gets back to her apartment to find Jane in her kitchen, coffee on and a bright box of pastries on the counter.  The look of concern on Jane’s face when she sees her has the bubbling sob Darcy had been holding in bursting out before the door can close behind her.  She throws herself into Jane’s arms and clings.

 

“Oh Darcy, Honey, it’s okay, I’m here, I’ve got you. Tell me everything.”

The soft words are exactly what she needed, the whole story falling out between angry tears and gut-wrenching sobs.  She is so glad her friend is back. Jane will help her, Jane will be her rock. The two women had relied on each other for so long that Darcy formed the sort of strong connection with Jane she thought she would feel if she’d had a sister.  

 

They spend the rest of the day on the couch, work forgotten as they pick thought the events, trying to figure out what it meant.  Jane always the voice of reason, grounds her, gives her hope. She holds onto it carefully. There was more going on, Jane thought so to. Now she just had to figure out what.  

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky finds himself in a difficult position. Darcy meets up with an old friend. There are many misunderstandings.

  


The Office

Bucky lets Darcy go regretfully, watches as the door closes and goes back to his desk, sitting heavily in the chair, feeling as though a great weight has been settled on his shoulders.  He wishes he’d never taken this job, then shakes his head. No, if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have met her in the first place and he’s glad he met her, she’s something special, he feels different just for meeting her.  No, he wishes Stark hadn’t come to him with the news he did, that has put him in such a difficult position.  

She’d been sharp, eyes darting about scanning papers as she’d nervously asked him out. He’d been quick enough to casually move the file off to one side and cover the paperwork Stark had briefed him on three days ago.

The information contained within something he can’t share with Darcy.  Something he thinks she should probably know, but after reading the files and seeing the evidence he also understands where Stark is coming from.  The threat to Darcy is very real and not one he can ignore or pass off to another team. She needs his protection because no one else can hope to keep her safe from the threat that’s coming for her.

He pulls the papers out again and flicks through the photographs of the prison cell.  Darcy’s picture, cut from newspapers and magazines taken at functions and conferences she had attended with Jane or Stark Industries, papers the walls of the cell. Drawings and journals worth of obsessive scribbling full of the man’s sick fantasies about the girl he knows he’s falling for take up the pages.  

Robert Keene.  He was an ex police cadet who Darcy had met while she was in college.  They’d dated for six months before Keene got violent and jealous and raped and beat Darcy to within and inch of her life for staying out to a party too late, or so he claimed, he’d had no remorse for his actions.  He’d been convicted of aggravated attempted manslaughter, was meant to be serving life imprisonment but the recent outbreak of inhuman transformations had hit prisons too.

Keene was powered, exactly how was unknown but he was strong enough to tear the door from his cell and escape.  The fact that he’d kept up his obsession with Darcy for the last ten years was horrifying and more than concerning.  All profiles pointed to him targeting her, but neither Coulson, the FBI or Stark had managed to get a bead on the guy.  The only thing they could do was watch. Watch and wait and hope they caught him before he came here for her. Bucky could feel it in his bones, that the man wasn’t just going to hide, he was going to come for her and when he did, Bucky would be waiting.  

The whole situation has been complicated by how he feels about Darcy.  He feels drawn to her, just being in her presence made him feel things he’s not ready to name or give voice to.  It’s more than just her beauty, she’s bright on the inside, vital and warm.

She’s not wrong, he feels more than he should for her considering how little they had spoken.   He’d never listened to people who talked about love at first sight, thought the whole thing sounded like a load of bunk.  Yet he’d seen it happen before, hadn’t he? The way Steve had fallen for Peggy, love sick idiot that he was.

It feels wrong to know this much about her and have her unaware.  It makes him feel sick and guilty inside and it’s just one more reason why he can’t get involved with her.  He can’t be with her and not tell her, and he thinks the last thing she wants is him knowing what happened to her, it too intimate, too private, he feels like he’s breaking her trust, but it’s part of the job.  To protect someone you have to know what the threats are, that means information they might not want to share. He doesn’t think she realises just how thorough he’s had to be in order to do his job properly.

Stark doesn’t want Darcy to know about Keene and Bucky can’t tell her without violating his employment contract. He also wants to protect her from this. Doesn’t think she should have to live with that sort of fear over her head, the bastard had already hurt her enough, he shouldn’t be something she has to worry or even think about ever again.  

If he catches Keene he knows the other man won’t escape him alive, he’s already got a kill order from both Shield and the FBI. Both organisations having dropped the ball and wanting the matter tidied up quietly. It’s the only time in his life he thinks he’s been happy to accept one, relished it in fact.

He’d known the second Stark had walked into his office, mouth grim with some unidentifiable rage, that what the man had to tell him was bad.  He’d taken the files Stark handed him, the usual manic sarcasm and energy missing and read through them wordlessly, blood draining from his face as he’d seen the photographic evidence of what Keene had done to her.  The anger he’d felt had barely been controllable. He understood Stark’s insistence on the restrictions around Darcy now, knew it wasn’t just his being an overprotective father. That’s when he’d known he couldn’t peruse her, not now. Not until she was safe, and Keene was eliminated.

  


* * *

 

 

The Library

Kissing Darcy leaves his body tense and aching to do so much more than just kiss her.  The weight of her in his lap, the soft curve of her ass, the brush of silk soft skin and the heady perfume of want and jasmine had him gripping her tight.   The curl of her hair and the way she moans low in the back of her throat has his cock throbbing, if they hadn’t been in a public library he’d have bent her over the chair and made then both forget who they were.  

He’s not sure if he’s thankful or furious at the phone call when it breaks the spell between them. He wants to kick himself when he sees the hurt in her eyes as she slides off his lap, somehow able to read his own expression.  He wishes he could explain to her, tell her that the only thing he wants is her, that he needs her like he needs air, but he still has a job to do and this, them getting caught up in each other, this is part of the problem  He’ll get them both dead if he doesn’t reign it in.

 

* * *

 

 

The longer he spends in her presence the harder it is to keep his distance.  Even with her new insistence that he calls her Miss Lewis and the way she tries so hard not to look at him is sending him on a conflicting journey, torn between wanting to protect her and wanting to confess everything and take her to bed with him where she belongs.  

He spends days tracking leads and making sure she’s safe every hour of the day.  Part of him whispers the whole thing would be easier if he just took her away somewhere, just the two of them, somewhere remote where they could forget the world.  

She stays mostly in the labs once Dr Forster returns, sends him her schedule as she promised and holds herself tightly when she’s in his presence.

It’s been five weeks of cold showers and sleepless nights.  He finds himself dreaming of her when he sleeps, the memory of what it feels like buried in her tight heat an agonising gift.

There’s been two attempts to breach the Tower, both times nothing was caught on camera and both times he knows it wasn’t some random spy or agency.  This was Keene. Bucky can almost feel the man watching them, he’s sure he’s not far, just waiting for his moment to grab her when she’s not being protected.  He spends hours poring over footage hoping that the man will make a mistake.

She sends him a text on Friday afternoon with an updated event.  Dinner at some fancy restaurant in Long Island. It’s unexpected, a break in the routine she’s made.  For that alone he doesn’t object.

 

* * *

 

  


He’s waiting in the lobby when she steps off the elevator.  When he sees her his breath catches. The dress is a dark red with burnished gold accents, it clings to every curve before flaring out from her hips and resting just above the knee.  Her hair falls in curling waves down her back, she looks like sin. The rush of blood in his ears as he holds the door open for her means he misses the click of the camera taken by some paparazzi outside the Tower.  Doesn’t in fact register it till it’s too late to get a look at the man.

The drive is quiet, Darcy looking out the window, still keeping her distance.  Eventually he can’t stand the silence.

“Who are you meeting for dinner?  You didn’t mention.”

She turns her head and finally meets his eyes.  Blue fire dancing in their depths.

“Does it matter?”

“It would help.”

“So you can what?  Do a background check?  I’m 32 not twelve. If Tony wants to know who my dinner date is, he can ask me himself.”

A lead weight settles in his stomach.  So it is a date. She’s going on a date with some guy he knows nothing about.  He knows he doesn’t have any right to judge, to feel jealous, but the flame of it burns in his gut, hurt and angry and green.  His jaw tightens, he can feel the tick working its way into the muscle. There’s barely a foot between them in the back seat of the limo.  He’s insisted on a driver tonight because of the location and it gave him a backup, someone who could drive her to safety if he had to stay behind.

He wonders if he should just have sat up front, but shakes the notion away.  No, he had to be here, if there was an accident he wouldn’t be able to help her from the front of the limo.  The rest of the drive was spent in a tense silence, both of them aware of every shift and breath, eyes occasionally meet then looking quickly away. But the time they arrive Bucky is hyper aware of everything and Darcy’s fists have long since went white from how hard she had been clutching the material of her skirt.  He lets Roth open her door and gets out himself, trailing a few feet behind her, ignoring the temptation to grab her and throw her back in the car and take her home where he could take that dress off her and loose himself between her legs, bury his face in her cunt and make her beg for him.

The restaurant is a modest little bistro by the waterfront. It’s busy but not overly so.  It’s almost rustic in decor, exposed brick and black chalkboards and heavy wooden tables, lovingly polished, marred only by scratches and dents created by the decades of meals shared and memories made in the small eatery.   It’s the sort of place he would have chosen to take her himself and the knowledge like ash in his mouth.

He takes a table on the other side of the room and orders water.  His eyes were on Darcy the whole time as she is escorted to her table and the man waiting for her.  The clink of glasses and the scrape of cutlery sounds distant over the whisper of voices and the soft music playing over the sound system.  It leaves him on edge that he can’t hear everything they say.

The guy’s about her age, tall, maybe even a little taller than him, dark red hair and a Hollywood smile.  Bucky tenses as the man leans down to envelope her in a hug. Darcy hugs him back and smiles. It’s not her fake smile or her polite smile, he’s seen them both before, it’s a real smile, something genuine, meaningful.   It makes him want to punch the guy in his perfect teeth.

It’s torture sitting there, catching fleeting snippets of conversation.  Hearing Darcy laugh at his jokes, her tinkling laugh crossing the space between them and causing his gut to clench.  They talk all through dinner, take their time over desert and still Bucky sips his water, eyes keeping a regular scan of the room.  He leaves the table twice to do a perimeter check, keeps contact with Roth outside and tries not to let his gaze linger too long on her.  

She kisses the guy, Scooter, he heard her call him, goodbye, it’s just a peck on the cheek but something dark wells in Bucky’s chest seeing it, seeing how the man’s hand lingers on the curve of her waist. It takes more restraint than he thought himself capable of, to standby and watch.  

The sun is long down by the time they leave the waterfront. He’s tempted to get into the front of the car, put some much-needed space between them, for his own piece of mind if nothing else but at the same time every atom of him is drawn to her like metal filings to a magnet.  It’s an hour-long drive back to the city, he doesn’t make it fifteen before he opens his mouth.

“Are you seeing him again?”

She’d been lost in her own head staring out the window when the question slams into her.  She’d felt his eyes, hot on her, the whole night, even from a half a room away. She’d ignored it, intent on having a good time and forgetting the shit storm her life had recently become.  Her head whips round to look at him, sees the way his eye twitches impatiently as he waits for her to answer.

“Probably.  He’s new to the city, he’ll need someone to show him around.”

His jaw clenches and she turns away, so not ready for whatever fight he seems intent on starting.

“What kind of name is Scooter, anyway?”  

It makes her spine stiffen, his sneering tone making her defensive.  Not that she needed to be, she’d done nothing wrong.

“Were you eavesdropping on my conversation? And why does it matter what his name is?”

The way his had lip curled around Scott’s nickname made her feel oddly triumphant.  

“If you’re going to be spending time with him, I need his full name, especially if you’re going to … entertain him in the Tower.”

Bucky couldn’t hold back the spike of jealous ire in his tone or the judgemental comment.  He bit his lip before he could say more but she was already glaring at him, eyes sparking in the dim light.

He’s glad now for the privacy window, keeping Roth from seeing them or hearing their conversation.

Darcy turned to face him properly, furious about his insinuation.

“You’ve got no right to speak to me like that, you’re not my boyfriend Barnes.  You never were.”

She’d right and he hates that she is because all he wants is to tell her how wrong she is, that he wants to be exactly that and so much more.  Instead the impulse to lash out wins.

“Still pissed that I turned you down sweetheart? You’ll have to do better than that to get my attention”

Darcy’s eyes sting, tears of angry humiliation warring to appear.  What the hell was he trying to say?  It sounded like he was livid with jealousy, but he’d turned her down so many times, where the hell was this even going? He couldn’t actually be...

“Oh my god! You’re jealous!”  Was he for real?

“Jealous?  Of that guy?  He didn’t even have the guts to kiss you. If you want to make me jealous you’d have to do better than that.”  

The words were shot back quickly, too quickly.  Darcy’s eyes narrowed with annoyance.

“Believe it or not, but my life doesn’t revolve around you and the twenty minutes we spent fucking.  I don’t need to explain anything to you, so you can keep your judgement to yourself. Besides if I wanted to make you jealous you’d know it.  I’d have went home with him and made you wait outside while I let him pound me into a mattress.”  The lie left her mouth easily in the heat of the moment, searching for some way to make him react to the constant strain and tension, to hurt him for his accusations and assumptions.

“You think that guy could make you scream the way I can?” 

Cutting and dark, his response feels like another blow.  She wants to say yes, but even with his unjustified jealousy she keeps the worst of what she could say locked down.

“Screw you.”

“You already did, Doll.”

She grabs her phone from her purse, pulse racing and furious. He was going too far, she couldn't spent the next forty-five minutes in the car with him.  She’d get out and wait for Scot to pick her up, he’d not be far behind them, she knew he’d be happy to help her, to give her the escape she needed right now, it’s what old friends were for after all.

“What do you think you’re doing?”  he askes seeing her bring up Scooters contact in her phone.

“What does it look like, I’m making a booty call, you can have Roth drop me off at the next block, I’ll wait for Scot to pick me up.”

He grabbed the phone and pocketed it.

“No, you’re not, I’m still doing my job and you can’t go waltzing off without giving me the chance to make sure it’s safe first. Do you even know this guy from Adam?  What was he, some guy you picked up on some sleazy app?”

“What do you care?  I can fuck who I want.”

“No, you can’t.”

He saw the slap coming and before she could follow through, he’d grabbed her wrist.

“You can’t tell me what to do, or dictate who I sleep with” Darcy hissed, trying to twist her hand away from him. God he was such a self-righteous prick. A grade A-asshole who looked far too good in a suit.  Even with his expression dangerous, eyes hooded and dark she felt the familiar pull drawing her to him. 

“The hell I can’t!”

“You can’t, you turned me down, remember?”  

The angry bitter words strike a chord in him.  He can’t date her but he can’t stand the thought of her going to another guys bed, letting some stranger touch her and kiss her, feel her.  

He did remember, all too well exactly, how fucked up the whole situation was, how he’d told her they couldn’t be anything more.  But now she’s right in front of him, chest heaving, cheeks flushed and lips bitten red and he’s having a hard time trying to remember why he shouldn't be doing this.  

For a long time he hadn’t wanted anything for himself.  Had been living in some limbo where he’s existed, day to day.  Then she’d come into his life and he’d remembered what it was to want something. Not just sex, but something more.  He wanted to spend the day with her, cuddled on the couch watching a movie, take her to the park and feed the ducks, he wanted real moments with her, she made him think about the future, one where he took back who he had been and knitted it together with who he had become and transform into something new, someone who could come home to pretty dame and dance barefoot in a kitchen to a radio.  

He gentles the grip he has on her wrist but tugs her closer.  He can feel her shaking even as she allows him to draw her near.  She lets him brush his lips over hers and her hand clutches his shoulder.  It’s like the world holds its breath between one second and the next.  He wants her, but he won’t force it… She kisses him back, and time moves again.  She tastes like dark chocolate and bad decisions. Sweet and bitter with a promise of regret.  He doesn’t care. Just knows he wants to show her that’s she’s his. That he wants her as much as she wants him. That she makes him crazy and reckless and none of it matters if he can just bury his cock deep inside her soft pussy and lay his claim.  If he can only mark her as deeply as she seems to have done to him.

His eyes soften just enough that when he relaxes his hold on her she lets him pull her in, lets him kiss her.  She’s still annoyed, still twisted in knots over knowing his jealousy is real and tangible. The moment his lips cover hers she’s lost.  The fleeting thought of setting him straight about Scot dies on her tongue as his sweeps into her mouth, licking at her and causing a flood of wetness to dampen her panties.  The heat of desire rushes through her, she’s shaking from a dizzy combination adrenalin and weeks worth of frustration. It’s an easy choice to make, for these next moments, she’s his, she wants him, knows he already runs in her veins, it was never going to be no. She kisses him back, lets out a mewing whimper and cleaves to him.

Air electric, they come together, breath thin, heat climbing.  Hands reaching for the other, clothes discarded or pushed out of the way.  Lips warring desperately, trying to gain the upper hand. It’s a mess of teeth and tongue, growls and moans filling the air as they break themselves on the passion between them.

Strong hands grip Darcy’s waist, pulling her to straddle his lap, a choked gasp and muttered curse as he pulls her core tightly against his erection, straining under the dress pants he’s wearing.  

He can feel the heat of her, the dampness that soaks through to him.  She grinds down, her hips circling and rocking, demanding more. The pull between then undeniable as he loses himself in the scent of her, in the thrumming beat of her heart filling his ears.  He could live a hundred lifetimes but he knew that this connection he felt to her, he would never experience this again, not with anyone else.

Darcy deftly unbuttons Bucky’s shirt while her lips kiss and nibble down his neck, whimpering as he helpes her rock against him, even between two layers of cloth she could feel his need for her, her clit aching insistently with each tilt of her hips.  There wasn’t any thought of where they were, cramped in the back of the limo. No concern reached her mind of being caught or overheard. Her whole being was focused on the feel of his body under hers, determined to strip away the barriers between them so she could finally feel all of him against her.  Between punishing kisses and soft curses the rest of their clothes were stripped away.

When there was finally nothing between them, he pulled her close, the hard lines and planes of him pressing into her soft curves, Darcy shuddered at the feel of skin on skin, at the sensation of his strong arms banded round her, holding her, one hand gripped tightly in her hair as he kissed at the juncture of her neck, sucking and licking, raising bruises with his tongue.  Her hips jerked, searching for him, begging for more, desire soaking her thighs, pussy aching for relief but he held her still as he worked his mouth down her chest before drawing one rosy nub into his mouth. She cried out his name, arching in his grip, her walls clenching around nothing.

“Please…  please… Please, I need you…”  He was torturing her, she needed him inside her.

“Who do you need doll?”  The rough growl whispered next to her ear.

“You… I need you.”  She shook in his arms, tears gathering in her lashes, the cool metal of his arm on her heated skin another counterpoint of bliss.

“Are you sure, it’s me you need?”

She knew what he wanted her to say, could feel the possessive way his hand finally trailed around, over her ass, fingers stroking circles into the skin of her inner thigh, close to where she needed and wanted him, waiting for her answer.

“Yes, I need you, Bucky… please…”

“What do you need baby doll, talk to me.”

“I need you inside me, need you to fill me up with your cock… please.”  She begs again, almost whining as her hands thread into his hair, pulling his head until he looked at her, foreheads touching.

His fingers finally move, find her slippery and wet, stroke gently through her folds, teasing and slow, skirting around her clit them back to her core, barely dipping in then back up again, each time increasing the pressure on her clit as he holds her gaze.  She feels naked on the inside, it’s like he’s in her head, stealing all her secrets.

“Tell me who you belong to baby girl.”

She’s on the edge, hanging by a thread, he won’t let her cum, she knows, not till she gives him his answer.  All of this because he’s jealous. She would laugh but she’s closing in on hysterical. The answer leaves her lips reluctantly, but that makes it no less true. His eyes aren’t hard as they continue to stare, his tone no longer tinged with anger, but pleading, just as hers had been.

“You.  I belong to you.”  His eyes darken and the kiss he gifts her sears her to the core.

He grasps his cock and pulls it through her slick, drenching himself in her juices, then he’s nudging her open, the thick head barely breaching her, still, he hesitates for a moment, his expression changes and it’s him that’s begging silent permission from her as he lets the powerful hold he has on her hip go.  

A rush of affection and understanding flows through her mind and she draws him into a deep kiss, hovering in his lap.  Now it’s her with the power, it’s her that’s in charge, it makes her want it all. Everything with this man, no matter how complicated it is. She sinks onto him, feels the powerful play of hard muscles beneath his skin where her hands hold herself steady on his shoulders as he restrains himself from thrusting up into her, letting her lead.  

He kisses her back hard as she slowly impales herself on his hard length, cursing under his breath until she’s seated on him fully.

She thinks her heart might stop from the delirious sensation of him filling and stretching her.  She catches his bottom lip between her teeth possessively before letting go and soothing it with a soft lick.

“Mine.”  She declares, certainty colouring her eyes before he growls his accent to her and then flips her beneath him, her body pinned to the wide leather seat as he begins to drive into her, her words muttered back to her with each thrust.

He takes Darcy in a steady rhythm, each stroke inside her silken heat precise and deliberate. This isn’t the breathless fun of their first time or the aggressive coupling in the elevator, it’s so much more.  There’s still the push and pull as they cling to one another, but it’s different. She’s his and he’s hers, they’re demanding the promise from the other with each kiss and caress, with the desperate press of bodies when he buries himself to the hilt, the way her hips meet him thrust for thrust, her heels insistently pulling him closer and deeper until he feels her warmth flutter around him and she cries out his name, chanting into his ear as his thrusts lose their cadence and he’s fucking into her, control on a knife edge as she trebles and comes apart on his cock. 

His hips stutter, her name and whispered declarations fall from his tongue as he looses himself in her sweet softness, coming deep within her, painting her womb with his seed, flooding her with heat.

Darcy arches up, capturing his mouth with hers in a filthy affirming kiss as he slows before making one last snap of his hips burying himself in her depths, completely spent.  He can feel wetness on his cheeks, his face tucked into the crook of her neck and he nuzzles closer, lost in the exhaustion of emotion, his arms holding her tightly as she clings to him still, tiny hands skimming patterns into his back, nails scraping gently at the back on his neck. Lying there with her safely tucked beneath him he knows in his bones that this isn’t just need or want. He’s in love with her, irrevocably and completely head over heels for her. She’s full of fire and life and passion, she drives the cold from within and suffuses him in her warmth. He can’t stand the space between them anymore. He has to talk to her, explain everything and hope she understands.

Darcy lies replete in the cage of his body, he’s still half hard within her, his weight a delicious reality. She holds him close, all too aware that this might be all she gets, lives for the space between heartbeats, willing time to slow.

The jolt as the limo stops and the engine turns off snaps the thin tether to the little bubble they occupied.  He presses a kiss to her forehead before reluctantly pushing away from the inviting warmth of her body, still craving the touch of her skin, wanting nothing more than to keep himself buried in her gentle heat.

She feels the sudden absence of him inside her is like an empty ache, she wants to pull him back to her.  The sudden cool air on her heated skin chills her as reality rudely sets back in.

Darcy pulls the dress back on, her core still feeling the ghost of him inside her, grieving the loss of fullness and completion.  She tries not to shiver as his hand skims up her back, helping her with the zip.

He helps her back into her dress, pulling up the zip and placing a soft kiss to her shoulder, lips brushing over the mark he left earlier, she turns her head and rubs her cheek to his with a silent intimacy that has him closing his eyes for a second to savour the sensation.   

It’s with reluctance that Bucky gets out of the car, makes his way round to open her door.  He holds out a hand and she links their fingers tightly as he helps her out.  He doesn’t let go once she standing before him on the sidewalk. Its still fairly busy, people walking past, the sounds of the city filling their silence.  He can see the apprehension in her eyes as though she’s waiting for him to back out again, to reject her.  Before he can speak she tugs her hand from his and crosses her arms and he’s aware again of some of the paparazzi from before poised not far from them, cameras out.

“It wasn’t a date.”

Darcy blurts it out quickly, she’s almost certain that no matter what the encounter in the limo had felt like that he’s just going to feed her the same line as before.  She has the need to be honest about Scot, the slight feeling of guilt heavy in her gut. He looks so confused, like he can’t connect the dots.

“Scooter, he’s an old friend from high school, we were just catching up, honestly he’d be more interested in you than me.  You just assumed… ”

Bucky scrubs a tired hand over his face, looking away before turning back to her.

“I guess I deserved that.  I’m sorry, you were right before.  I had no call to be jealous even if it had been a date and I was…  jealous. Fucking green, doll.” 

She doesn’t want to hope that the sudden confession means more than it might and her nails dig into her arms to stop from reaching for him. But he looks about as wrecked as she feels and hope creeps in.

“Look, Darcy, we need to talk-”  his phone rings interrupting him and he swears, pulling it out, frustration and irritation clear on his handsome face, before he answers.

The world rushes back in and she bites back the familiar sting of tears…  nothing good ever comes of the phrase we need to talk. He holds up a finger, asking her to wait, to give him a minute before walking a short distance and looking away from her.  

She’s not going to hold it together, can’t stand to listen to him explain once more why they can’t be together.  Not with her insides still tingling and the sticky warmth of his cum coating her thighs. She can’t be here, she needs to go.  Turning on her heel she walks away, stopping at the entrance to the Tower before looking back at him, he’s not watching her, he’s gesturing angrily as he talks to whoever is on the phone.  She looks down the block, then making a swift decision, she walks away from the Tower and responsibility and him. She just needs some space.

He finishes the phone call, looks back and finds her gone.  From the corner of his eye he sees the lobby door swinging slowly shut. She must have gone inside.  He sighs and debates his options. There’s been a sighting of Keene in Jackson Heights, it’s too good a lead to miss, it’s the best they’ve had in weeks and he’s the closest agent.  He didn’t want to leave her like this, wanted the chance to reassure he wasn't about to let her down again, but if he could catch Keene now… if he could do that, he’d have solved most of their problems and be able to tell her it all safely and with the confirmation that Keene was no longer a threat to her or anyone else.  Decision made he walked back to the car and instructed Roth to take them down to the sub-levels to suit up.

  


tbc...

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy ends up a little out of her depth. Bucky makes a shocking discovery. Happy Hogan rethinks retirement. Pepper takes charge. Tony gets a surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Potential trigger warning for some physical assault.

Darcy doesn't care at first where her feet are taking her, she just walks, head down, through the crowd, she just needs some space. The street is brightly lit, people out, alone or in groups. |She steadfastly ignores the couples holding hands and looking like they were walking off the pages of some romance novel. 

She's always loved the city at night.  The rush less hurried, the real people of New York out and about living life, being honest and real.  The sound of the cars driving by, the occasional sound of a horn, the cursing as people walk out in front of traffic, the colorful language of the natives. 

This is her home, it's where she feels grounded and safe.  It's part of what she hates about being cooped up all the time.  She misses the freedom to walk out and forget the world and just live in the moment of the city.  Breath in the smog and not think about where her feet take her, find some little hole in the wall that serves good food or wine, or both. 

She keeps walking, missing the way her feet lead her off the main thoroughfare and down a street less brightly lit, misses the figure that's been following her since she left the tower.  She's wandering aimlessly, trying to figure out what she should do next, her head going round in circles thinking of him.

Darcy’s honestly just so tired, she’s been on edge for weeks. The constant ache of wanting what she's told she can’t have, intruding on her dreams, filling the spaces in the hours while she works.  Their encounter in the car had been fantastic, earth shattering, mind blowing… fuck, it had felt like more than just sex, it had shaken her to the core.

The feeling of connection that had formed between them, him filling her, making her whole, it had made her think he’d changed his mind.  Had she misread something? Darcy casts the thought aside, what was the point in second guessing? All this wallowing and wondering is what she’s trying to get away from, nothing was going right in her life recently.

Every decision she made seemed to make things worse, not better. It would be easy to blame it on Tony or Jane or even a host of other outside factors but the truth was that she’s been making impulsive decisions, not taking the time to think things through.  She just needed a time out, a moment to think, to re-evaluate what she was doing. When she spots the bar there is a split second of hesitation before she quickly makes her way inside. She’ll think about it tomorrow, tonight she needed to drink and forget, just for a minute.

The man stops and watches as she crosses into the pub, waiting before slowly following her inside.

 

* * *

 

 

  **Jackson Heights**

 

Bucky watches the place from the security feed and sees nothing to indicate there’s anyone currently inside.  He checks his weapons and the team all agree on a plan of action before they leave, closing in on the small apartment.  

It’s in a bad neighbourhood, with a high crime rate .  The apartment block is run down, graffiti covers the walls, a few gang signs and tags take prominence.  The stairwell smells of stale beer and the scent of weed hangs heavy in the damp corridors. The report indicated Keane might have been here for as long as two weeks.  It leaves a deep feeling of apprehension in his gut, knowing the man who had hurt her has been so close for so long. He doesn’t know what to expect, what they might find, but nothing could have prepared him for the revelation waiting inside. 

They get in quick and quiet, there’s no resistance as they enter.  All the rooms are cleared quickly and Bucky is left to stare at the wall in the main room.  

There are hundreds of pictures of he and Darcy, taken all over New York, going right back to the time he first came to the tower, covering every wall of the room.  

The first of them he recognised with a growing coldness, shots taken of them in the damn library, Darcy in his lap while he kissed her.  How the fuck had Keane gotten so close, so near, without Bucky knowing?  

Icy dread fills him, there are so many taken right outside the tower, Keane had to be following them every time they left… the angles of the shots, how close they were?  He had to have an excellent camera, something with a telescopic lens, but the type of equipment would be noticed, he’d stick out like a sore thumb, you couldn’t not be noticed carrying a camera like that around, not unless….   

Horrifying realisation sweeps through him.  He’d been so fucking stupid, the one place he didn't look, the only people he ignored.  The only people in New York that people pretended weren’t there, that got shunned and pushed out the way if they came too close.  He was posing as a fucking photographer, one of the many paparazzi who hung out around the Tower, waiting for Stark or one of the Avengers. Fuck... and they had been there tonight.  Tonight when he had taken her to the restaurant and after, when he’d been seconds away from telling her everything before she’d went inside…  

It’s only then, standing in the messy apartment, her face staring at him from the walls that he begins to question what he saw tonight, too distracted by the call to double check…. 

He’s striding from the apartment with  shouted instructions and jogging down the stairs, phone clamped to his ear, ringing her number, it was going straight to voicemail.  He ignores the shout from behind him and keeps going, tapping the com and being put through to the tower.

“Jarvis?  Tell me Darcy is in the Tower?”

“I’m sorry Sergeant Barnes, Miss Lewis left the Tower with you tonight but did not return.  Would you like me to inform Sir?”

“Not yet Jarvis, can you ping Darcy’s phone for me?”

“I’m sorry sir, but I can't get a location, her phone appears to be turned off.”

“Try her tracer. She’s meant to wear it, I know she had it on tonight, she was wearing the necklace Stark gave her.”

“I have a last known location, three blocks from the tower, a bar called Oakley’s.”

He grabs his bike and mounts, not bothering with the helmet and rides back to the city, breaking every speed limit and trying to coordinate by com with   
Hill.  He needed a clear path back and couldn’t be delayed by some well meaning cop. 

Traffic seems to be against him, even with every light miraculously in his favour he feels the seconds ticking by, knowing each one brings her closer to danger.  He’s blaming himself, he should have checked, made sure she had actually gone inside, fuck. He’d had his eyes off her for a few seconds. Had she been taken? Or had she just walked off?  The tracer said she was at the bar, but that didn't mean anything, not with how much intel Keane might have picked up from watching them so closely.  The bar sounded familiar though, then it strikes him why.  He knew that bar, knew exactly which one, the same one they had met in. 

What were the chances she had gone there,that she would still be there when he arrived? He gunned the motor again and overtook a red buick, the driver blaring his horn and shouting curses at him as he sped past.  Almost there, another few blocks and he’d have her.

 

* * *

 

 

**Oakley's Bar**

 

Darcy takes her usual seat at the bar and orders a scotch and ice.  It seems like the sort of drink she needs right now, something hard and biting.  Something that will hold her up later for whatever speech her erstwhile mancrush has cooked up this time.  She has no doubt he’ll follow her, he always does. 

She sips the drink and ignores the other patrons at the bar, she’s not in the mood for some bullshit come on or a good time.  She came here to drink away the pain and the feelings and the angst.  

Bucky Barnes wasn’t just any guy though, was he?  God, if it had been anyone else she would have been long over the whole thing but he was different.  She knocks back the drink and signals for a second. 

She’d been sitting right here the night they first met. She’d spotted him nearly a half hour before Ian had turned up but the guy had put off such a keep away vibe that she’d done her best to reel back the flirting she had wanted to do and kept to herself.  It had only been Ian’s presence that had made her throw away caution and good manners, instead, begging for the handsome man’s help. When he’d slipped his arm about her waist and scared Ian off she’d been so surprised, but right from that first touch she’d felt it.  What was it all those sappy writers would say? She felt a spark? His touch was electric? It would be funny if it weren’t so true.  

Darcy sighs into her drink, drains it and signals the barkeep for another.  She’d only vaguely aware of someone slipping into the seat next to her. Ignores the first two attempts to engage her in conversation with an icy glare.  The third time the guy touches her arm and she snaps at him. 

 

Across  the bar a shadowy figure watches her  from the corner, shrouded in darkness, Darcy never notices him.  He keeps his gaze trained on her as she argues with the son of a senator.  

When she gets off the stool and shrugs her jacket back on, he follows her.

 

She’s out the door and half way down the sidewalk when someone grabs her, pulling her up short.  The grip is tight on her arm and she can smell the alcohol and stale cologne as her assailant jerks her against him.

“Let me go!”

She wrenches her arm from his grip, it’s the  same guy who had been trying to chat her up for  hours. The guy is average in every way to her eyes, although, had she met him before she finished college she might have thought him cute.  It seemed though, that knowing and meeting gods and super soldiers had skewed her idea of attractive. He’s lean, dark hair, almost pretty if it weren’t for the mean glint in his eye and the twist of his lips.  

“Come on baby, don’t you know who I am?”

“No, I don’t, nor do I care, I said no you jack ass now back off!”

She turns again to leave, walking quickly, not looking back and for the first time, reconsidering her ill fated idea to leave the protection she’d been given and ignored.  It’s not like Bucky not to show up, to not know where she is. Even as she had decided to walk away from the tower tonight, she’d still expected him to turn up, instead it seemed by some quirk of fate she'd actually slipped past him, at the worst possible time.

Footsteps echo behind her as she speeds up, cursing the fancy heels which are slowing her escape.  

The footsteps come closer and she digs in her pocket for the small hand held taser Tony had insisted she carry with her at all times.  She can feel it, the fear tightening her belly, her shoulders ridged as she half runs, she knows she’s not getting away but she’d hoped if she could make it another block to where the crowds were busier she’d get help.

When it happens, she freezes for a split second, the harsh grip clamping around the back of her neck, terror swallows her senses.  All she can feel is the vice dragging her back by her neck, she drops, bringing up her shoulders and ducking but he grabs her hair wrenching her head back even as she falls to her knees.  The yelp she lets out is high and clear, but she swings her fist up as she cranes her neck to see him bending over her, feels the sudden release of her hair and the swirl of satisfaction as her knuckles throb from the nose she’s just broken before she fires the taser.  He yells and curses at her, his hand swinging and catching her with a back handed blow even as he stumbles back, falling to the ground unconscious, it throws her to the pavement, her head slamming into concrete and then there is the sound of running and blue lights and she dizzily becomes aware of the commotion of people.  

 

* * *

 

 

 

Bucky arrives at the bar, jumping from the bike and striding through the doors.  The place is small, it’s the work of seconds to ascertain that she’s gone. Before he can cross the room to question the  bartender his phone rings and Stark's face lights up the screen of the smartphone. He barks out his name by way of hello.

“Barnes, do you want to tell me why I just got a call from my lawyer telling me my daughter just got arrested and is being held at the 17th Precinct?” 

Stark’s voice becomes louder and higher as he questions him, Bucky can hear the stress and anger in his tone.

“I’m on my way, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”  he’s remounting the bike and gunning the engine even as Stark reams him out.

“Seriously?  When I get there you had better have a damn good explanation as to why she was alone.”

Bucky sighs and pushes the bike out again, turning it south.  If she’s in police custody at least she’s safe. He's not sure what he'll do when he sees her though, the relief of knowing where she is wars with the helpless anger he could still feel burning in his gut when he realised she had slipped off.

 

* * *

**17th Precinct.**

 

Happy draws up outside the precinct, it's telling that Tony doesn’t wait for him to open the door, instead letting himself out and rushing inside, phone clamped to his ear as he shouts at his lawyers to get their asses down there. 

Happy’s meant to be retired, but following Tony and watching his back has become ingrained in him. He could head home now, they’d only been out for dinner when Tony got the call. Maybe it’s the habits of a life time but he takes up his familiar place at Tony's side.

Happy does his best to keep the reporters swarming at bay and away from Tony but the story is already spreading.  It’s the wrong story of course but its still damaging.  

His phone is giving off constant notifications from media outlets, all seeming to be ecstatic to trail out the same narrative. 

“Stark’s Strumpet Shocks Senator's Son”.

His old friend is fuming, and why wouldn’t he be?  The only question left right now wasn’t if Tony would announce the truth, that Darcy was a Stark, it was what he’d do to the people responsible for the slander.  

Happy slips his hand into his pocket and takes out his com unit, he’d kept it on him for the last month, reluctant to give it up for some reason.  With a grim smile he tucks it into his ear and taps it twice, the comforting voice of Jarvis coming across the line, and he gets to work securing the area.

He places himself in front of the doors just as the familiar roar of Barnes’s Harley drawing up causes the swarm to turn their attention away from him.  

The ex assassin is grim faced as he approaches and Happy tamps down the urge to step back.  This is not how his evening was meant to go, dealing with pissed off superheroes was never meant to be part of his life and his plans for retirement were fast going out the window.  How could he go now, when Tony and his family still needed him? And he’d missed the kid, decision made he squares his shoulders and meets Barnes with a confident nod.

 

* * *

 

 

Bucky parks the bike behind Stark's custom Audi.  The car’s a tank in it’s own right, reinforced bullet proof glass and if he’s right the vehicle was more secure than even Fury’s SUV had been.  

He pulls Happy to one side before entering the station.

“Keane’s been in the area, keep sharp.  There’s evidence to suggest he’s been posing as a pap.”

Happy’s eyes widen but he nods, keeping his gaze from wandering to the crowd of reporters and paparazzi as he gives Barnes a short rundown of the situation.

“I’ve got Willis and Shaw posted at the other entrances and Friday has control of all CCTV in a five block area, you better get in there, Tony’s losing his goddamn mind.”

Bucky nods and slips through the doors.

He spots Stark almost immediately, arguing with the chief of police.  He crosses the foyer and stands to one side of Stark who gives him a sharp nod.

 

“I want to see her.”

“As I’ve told you Mr Stark, she’s in an interview room now.  The Senator is pressing charges. She discharged an illegal weapon.  That can't be ignored.”

“And I’ve told you, the weapon she had isn’t a taser, it’s a high voltage anti assault device and she wouldn’t have used it if she wasn't being threatened.  My lawyers will be here shortly, until they are I want her personal security with her.”

Bucky scans the room as Stark continues to argue then discreetly slips away, heading to where Darcy is most likely being held.  Stark covers for him smoothly, turning the chiefs attention away from Bucky by calling out to his freshly appeared attorney. 

 

* * *

 

 

Darcy sits in the interview room, ignoring the one way mirror and the ugly reflection it holds.  She’s a mess, her make-up is smeared and it can’t hide the purpling bruise rising beneath the skin on her left cheek.  They gave her an ice pack for her head but little else. They’ve had her here for about half an hour although it feels much longer.  The dizziness thankfully passed quickly, she doesn’t think she has a concussion, but her face feels stiff and achy.  

She spent the time since they put her in here worrying over what Tony, Bucky and no doubt Jane would say.  She should have stayed in the bar and called for a car, she should never have left Bucky like that, she should have gone inside.  “If only” and “what if”, seemed to be going in circles in her head. They’d given her one phone call and she’d done the only thing she could think of and called Tony’s lawyer, Harvey Specter.  He’d told her to say nothing till he got there, so she’d done as he said and sat tight.

The door opening startles her more than it should and she raises a hand to her heart in fright then locks eyes with Bucky and the tears she had been holding back since they put her here quickly rushed to the surface along side a stifled sob of anguish she couldn’t keep in.  

She can see he’s angry, for about a second, then he gets a good look at her and the frown dissolves into worry.  She doesn’t register standing but she must have because the next thing she knows she’s in his arms and she feels safe again.  

He crushes her to him, pressing her body to his and holding her tightly.  Darcy curls into his hold, clinging to him even as his hands move over her, she represses the hysterical giggle bubbling up.  Even now, he’s checking for breaks or injuries, his hand moving up into her hair and finding the nasty bump caused by her brief contact with the ground.

“Darcy..  Baby doll, fuck, what happened?  Are you alright?”

She can’t answer, just shakes her head and burrows into his chest.  It’s not like her, she knows that, but the last few hours have drained her of all her defenses.  There’s nothing left for her to hide behind or draw strength from, the only real thing in her world in that instant is him.  Solid and real and providing the anchor she needs.

  

 Bucky holds her up, he can feel she’s barely standing on her own.  The bruise on her face looks bad, probably worse than it is, but he worries anyway, especially when he discovers the goose egg on the back of her head.  He manages to get her to look up at him, checking her eyes to make sure she’s not concussed, they’re full of unshed tears, making the deep blue of her irises sparkle in the dim light.  

She’d crumpled like wet tissue when she saw him, this isn’t the girl he knows, this isn’t the Darcy’s he’s seen tackle things head on. Whatever had happened tonight has spooked her.

He soothes her as best he can, whispering reassurances into her hair and pressing kisses to her brow.  He can feel her shaking, the race of her heartbeat, it’s an almost crippling reminder of her fragility, that as strong as she wants people to think she is, she is still as vulnerable as anyone else.  

  
“I’m sorry, I just…  I … Bucky I’m sorry…”

“Hey, no… Doll, we’ll talk about it tomorrow.  I don’t know why you went off like you did, but it can wait.  I’m just glad you’re safe. Can you tell me what happened?”

She does so in halted steps, explains about the guy bothering her at the bar, about him following her.  He wants to hunt the little punk down and teach him a lesson, still might if he ever crosses path with the guy. The only relief he has is that it wasn’t Keane.  That’s something else he has to worry about, he’s going to draw a line. He can’t continue like this and neither can she. Tomorrow he’s going to explain everything to her and hope she can understand.

He cups her face gently, thumb brushing over her cheekbone.

“You did good Darce, took that asshole down and protected yourself.  You’re strong, don’t forget that.”

“I panicked…  Bucky I froze…  “ she trailed off.  “I… when I was in college I was with this guy he…”   She broke of, biting her lip suddenly feeling she was about to say too much. 

Bucky feels frozen, he knows what she wants to tell him, and he can’t pretend he doesn’t, the words escape him before he can change his mind.

“Hey…  I know, Darcy…" he tells her gently.  "I know what happened, it’s part of your file.”

 

Her first instinct is to put space between them.  She’s held the memory of her past close, kept it secret.  Him knowing what happened to her, it makes her feel exposed and vulnerable.  She tries to pull away but he doesn’t let go, 

“Why is that on my file it…  It was years ago, long before Tony even found out about me.”

“I’m pretty sure Jarvis can find out anything, besides, it’s just SOP for any sort of personal security job Doll, I’m meant to know this stuff, it’s my job.”  He’s cursing his own choice of words even before he sees the way her expression twists and she tries to pull away from him again, this time he lets her take that step, knowing somehow that in this she needs to stand alone, on her own strength.

“I am so fucking sick of hearing you tell me that this or that is your job…”

“I know and I’m sorry.   Listen, I’m gonna make this right Darcy, just give me till tomorrow.  I’m finished wasting time, trying to wait this out. I want to be with you doll, now, right now.  Nothing that happened in the past changes how I feel about you. You went through hell and you came out the other side.  You’re amazing, you take my breath away. I’m here, when you’re ready I’ll listen, if you never are, I’ll still be here, don’t pull away from me now, please Doll.”  He reaches for her, one hand held out, beseeching.

Darcy takes a breath, her eyes straying to that hand, open, offering her everything she’s needed for so long.  She sees the honesty in his eyes and places her hand in his, feels herself calming under his touch and breathes. He knows, fuck he probably knows everything.  Jarvis was nothing if not thorough and the majority of what had happened with Keane was on public record, the trial had been all over the local papers at the time.  

She nods her head and relaxes again into his arms as he draws her back against his strong chest, closing her eyes as his head rests on hers.  She can trust him. He would never hurt like that, she knows it already. For all the violence that lies under the surface, Bucky isn’t that kind of guy.  He’s one of the most deadly and dangerous men alive, but he’s incapable of hurting her the way Keane had. At his core he was good, honourable and gentle. He maintained the balance inside himself, one of constant self regulation, he had demons, but he controlled them and never the other way around.  What had happened to her with Keane had been a crucible, one she had come through stronger than before. Darcy breaths him in, letting his familiar scent calm her.  

  
"I just want to go home Bucky."

"I know doll, your dad's working on it."

Bucky scoops her up and sits on the chair, Darcy safely ensconced in his lap.  She snuggles in and he tucks her head under his chin. 

"Did you mean it?  About us?"

"Every word baby girl."

"Okay."

He presses a kiss to the crown of her head and she feels her eyes begin to shut.  He's warm and safe and the way he strokes her arm over and over lulls her into sleep.  She doesn't fight it, lets it happen, Bucky's here and he won't leave her.

 

* * *

 

The first thing that greets Pepper as she hurries through the doors of the station is Tony's voice sharp and cutting. She spots him immediately, waving his hands as he argues with Senator Griffin. The Senator is not one Tony or the Avengers are on good terms with.  Phil and Steve stand off to one side watching the show as are most of the officers and the chief of police, who has wisely stepped back from the two men.

"What's going on?"

Phil smiles warmly.

"Tony just dropped the daughter bombshell.  Senator Griffin is currently back tracking. He may loath Tony on principal but he's not stupid.  The narrative changing from suspected mistress to innocent daughter means he'll lack all public support if he presses ahead with charges, especially since Tony just threatened to sue his son for the attempted sexual assault of his daughter.  It'll look terrible for his constituents and with the election coming up he'll risk his seat if he tries to fight this."

"Harvey?"

"He's dealing with the media fallout, calling a press conference.  Griffins lawyer walked in, saw Harvey and walked out again, not that I think that's going to matter at this point."  Phil gestures towards Tony. 

Pepper makes her way over quickly, she knows that expression, Tony knows he's won and is about to press the advantage.

"Senator Griffin."  she greets the red faced man before turning to Tony and kissing his cheek.

"Light of my life."

"Tony.  Have you seen Darcy yet, is she alright?"

"Barnes is with her.  If she was badly hurt he'd have taken her back to the tower already."

"Barnes?"  Griffin questions, paling.

"Our head of security and Darcy's boyfriend."  Pepper relays smoothly.

"The Winter Soldier?"  he asks, patting at his forehead with a handkerchief.

"The very same."  Tony's smile is shark like, teeth bared with threat.

"I'll have the charges dropped Mr Stark-"

"Dr Stark."  Pepper intones sweetly.  "His proper title is Dr Stark, he has four Phds Senator, after all I know how much stock you put in proper etiquette."

"Of course Miss Potts-"

"Mrs Stark."  Tony cuts him off, pulling Pepper closer.

"Well, I'm sure we all have other things that warrant our attention right now, if you'll excuse us Senator, I'd like to collect my daughter and take her home."

She feels Tony's grip on her waist tighten as she claims Darcy as hers.  It's only right after all, the girl has no mother of her own, hasn't since she was three years old.  It's no different than the relationship she's been building with Peter, a son she never expected to have, but she finds the role of mother to them keenly lately, perhaps because she's found out that there will soon be a third Stark heir to join the first two.  She hasn't told Tony yet, it's early, only five weeks. They had been trying for years for a baby. She resists the urge to cover her abdomen with her hand and leads Tony away. Perhaps the press conference would be smoothed out with an announcement of that fact.  It was also getting harder to hide Peters true role in Tony's life. A united front, a little bit of spin and this whole mess would be forgotten about, the media too busy with chattering about who would be tipped to lead SI in the future. Better that than them hashing and rehashing this incident and speculating on Darcy's role at the Tower. 

"That was a nice move, telling that ass that Barnes was her boyfriend."

"He is her boyfriend Tony."  Pepper sighs.

"What?"

"Tony...  She's been pinning over him for weeks and he looks at her like she hung the moon...  Have you really not noticed?"

"They're together?"

"If they're not, they soon will be.  Don't mess this up for her Tony, she's old enough to decide who she dates."

"I know that... it's just..."

"I know.  But he's not that man anymore and he'll look after her.  He's a good man, I think he might make her happy if they get their chance."

Tony nods, thinking it over.

"I guess it wouldn't be the worst match.  At least I know she'll be in safe hands, he'll never let her out of his sight after this though."

"That's for them to work out Tony.  I think you should give him the chance to hire some enhanced to the security division for protection for Darcy and Peter.  They'll need it moire than anyone else."

"Yeah, Agent will have three fits if I poach from his operatives though."

"Well, a little bird told me that Skye and Ward are looking to leave Shield. Who better to hire than Quake and Firestorm?  They'd be useful back up for the team too in emergencies."

"An ex hydra Agent and a hacktivist?"

"Ward's family is old money and even though his brother was disgraced, his rescue of the Presidents family during the fall of Shield gives him a very high profile.  Same with Skye, she saved Sokovia with her power and helped stop Ultron and capture the Maximov Twins. Having them attached to SI will be positive press for the company and it will give the media something else to chew on after this press conference.  I think we should lead with Darcy's identity then Peters, take a few short questions then announce my pregnancy before leaving the podium, it should shock them enough that a coherent narrative of any of this will fall flat."

"Yup, that sound....  Wait... You're pregnant?"

"Yes Tony."

"So the dream I had..."

"Yes Tony.  Morgan Stark is on the way."

 

* * *

 

 

He knows who’s approaching the door just from the tread of the footsteps.  Steve might be able to walk silently but he knows better than to creep up on Bucky, his footfalls are heavy as he approaches the interview room.  Bucky shifts Darcy a little on his knee. He’s not exactly told his friend about what had been happening between he and Darcy, not quite ready to explain to Steve what was going on, not when he had still been trying to stubbornly figure it out by himself.  The brief knock before the door opened had his hands tighten on the precious cargo in his arms.  

Steve’s face peered round the door before he slipped inside, closing it behind him.  He gave nothing away in his expression as he took in the way Darcy was curled possessively in his arms.  

“We’re ready to go.  They’ve dropped the charges and Specter's argued them into scrubbing her record.  You want me to take your bike back to the Tower?”

“Yeah, that would be great.  Could you let them know we’ll be out in a minute.”

Steve nods and retreats to the door, but turns before opening it.

“I know it’s not any of my business but-”

“It’s not.”  Bucky cuts him off a little sharply.

“You can’t keep her in the dark forever.”

Bucky sighs.

“I know.  I was planning to tell her in the morning.  Right now she needs to rest.”

Steve nods and opens the door, slipping out as silently as he entered.

“Oh, and Buck…  I’m happy for you.”

Steve grins that shit eating grin that used to get him in trouble nearly a century ago, before closing the door with a click.

Before he can recover from that, Darcy shifts and he looks down to find her blue eyes staring up at him curiously.

“What did he mean?”

Fuck.  This is not where or when he planned to have this conversation.

“About what?”  Bucky hopes she didn’t hear Steve’s comment but the look in her eye indicated that he’s hanging on for a miracle.  

“Keeping me in the dark.”

“Darce..”

“No.  I’ve had enough of people keeping things from me.  Just tell me.”

She pushes herself to her feet and he immediately missed the warm weight of her.

“The threat against you, it’s more than Stark and I told you.”

“Bad enough you kept it from me for months?”

“Darce..”

“Well don’t stop now, just tell me.  You said you were planning to before this happened, so just spill.”

“Keane was transformed during the terrigenisis outbreak.”

He stands, noting the confusion that floods to horror filled realisation on her face.

“Darce..”

“No!”  She steps back, hugging her arms around her.

“He’s in prison.  I thought Shield took custody of anyone who transformed in the general population of all prisons.”

“They did Darcy…  but he escaped before they could pick him up.”

“Escaped?  When?”

“Ten weeks ago.”

“The same week Tony told me I needed a bodyguard.”

“Yes.”

“You’ve known, all this time.  You know what he did to me. And you didn't tell me?”

“Doll, you gotta understand I..,”

“No, no I don’t have to understand anything.  You knew what he did to me, you told me you saw my file.  You slept with me. How could you keep that from me? How could you let me waltz around New York like that with no idea…  What are his powers? What can he do?”

She was pacing, hands buried in her hair as she gradually grew paler.

“We don’t know exactly what his power is.  There’s been some evidence that his escape was orchestrated by an outside agency.”

“You mean Hydra.”

“We don’t know that.  We’ve kept back channels open, there’s been no word from any of our agents that Keane’s been sighted with any Hydra cell.”

“That doesn’t mean he isn’t.”

“No.”  Bucky concedes.  Then he reaches for her arm, stopping the frenzied pacing.

“Darce…  We’re going to find him, I promise. I won’t let him hurt you.  FBI and Shield both put kill orders out on him…”

Darcy’s eyes grow wide.

“You took the contract.”

He nods, mouth set.

Darcy takes a breath, then another, shaking, before pushing away from him and doubling over as she runs to the waste basket.

Bucky is only a step behind her, gathering her hair back as she vomits, his other hand steadying her.  When nothing else would come up he helped her to a chair and left the room, looking for water.

Pepper stood outside the door, water bottle in hand and frowned as she spotted Darcy’s shivering form huddled on the chair.

“Pepper…  I-”

“I’ll take care of her.  Go sort out our security escort and cars.  Darcy will ride with Tony and I in the Audi.  Happy will drive us. You’re welcome to join us.”

Bucky looked back at Darcy, his hands curled into fists. 

“I’m not sure she wants me anywhere near her right now.  Did you hear us?”

“I heard.  I’ll handle Darcy.  Call Jane, let her know what’s happened and that we’re on the way back.”  he nods and gets a few steps away when Peppers voice stops him. “And Barnes?  Just because she’s hurting right now doesn’t mean she won’t want you there protecting her, give it time.  She’s had a big shock to deal with.” Bucky searches her face, looking for some clue to why the older woman was so sure of what she said.  Kind blue eyes meet his, understanding and sympathy shining through.

“Thank you.”

She nods and steps inside, letting the door swing closed.  Bucky squares his shoulders and makes his way to the front.  He has a job to do.

 

 

'

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
